BEAUMONT – The Sam Houston Bearkats had to go to overtime, but survived a scare from Lamar to grit out an 83-80 win over the Cardinals on Wednesday night at the Montagne Center.
 
The Kats (6-4, 2-2 SLC) picked up their second straight win, but had to work to get it after leading the Cardinals (2-8, 1-1 SLC) for the majority of the second half. SHSU led 71-67 with just seven seconds in regulation, but LU was able to scramble and force overtime with a buzzer-beating 3-pointer from freshman Sabria Dean.
 
Lamar then staked itself to a 6-point lead early in the extra period before the Kats rallied to close on a 10-1 run of their own to hold off the home team.
 
Amber Leggett led all scorers with 29 points on 9-for-15 shooting from the field and 9-for-11 at the foul line. She added 11 rebounds and three assists before fouling out early in overtime.
 
She now needs just one more point to her credit to become the 18^th Bearkat in program history to reach 1,000 points in a career.
 
Courtney Cleveland turned in a big night of her own with 20 points and six boards and responded from a rough game at the foul line on Saturday at UCA to convert 10 of her 11 tries on a night that saw the Kats hit 29 of their 42 tries as a team.
 
Madelyn Batista joined Cleveland and Leggett in double figures with 11 points and 10 boards, while Faith Cook added 10 points and a game-high seven assists.
 
The Kats were scheduled to next take on Houston Baptist on Saturday before the game was postponed to February 3 due to COVID protocols within the Husky program. Instead, Sam Houston will now have a week off before hosting Abilene Christian on Wednesday, January 20.
 
The game will be aired on ESPN+ and is set to tip off at 5:30 p.m. as part of a midweek doubleheader with the Bearkat men's team.
 
Only advanced tickets are available for the game and all University and Southland Conference COVID protocols must be adhered to while at the game.